Obituary of Lorene Jean Crusos

Lorene Jean Crusos, age 79, of Lodi went home to our heavenly father on Sunday April 28, 2024.

Lorene was born in Souix City, Iowa to Freddie and Dorothy Mead on October 23, 1944. Her family later moved to South Dakota, then on to Southern California where she graduated from Excelsior High School in Norwalk, California in 1962. In 1965 she moved to Lodi and never left, loving the smalltown environment. For approximately 25 years she drove school bus for Lodi Unified. Driving Special Ed children was the highlight of her career as she bonded with many of the children and their families.

In her younger years Lorene was an avid reader. She could burn through a thick paperback book in 2 or 3 days. She also loved to garden and can. Her favorite things to preserve were pickles. Know as the “Pickle Lady” she did Dill’s, 14 Day Sweets in a stone crock and also Bread and Butters. When it came to her family and food, the most requested things were her fabulous fried chicken and wonderful lemon meringue pie.

Lorene loved travel back to Nebraska with her mother Dorothy to visit her grandparents. During these travels either coming or going was a must stop at the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. She was always curious as to how much progress had been made since their last visit.

Lorene is survived by her daughter Darla Norman and husband Tom, daughter Kathleen Traver, son Ernest A. Crusos, and her stepchildren Jeanne, Jacquie and Scott Decaillet. She is survived by her grandchildren Rachelle, Rebecca and Austin Norman,Nicholas and Jessica Christian, Amanda and Kaleb Crusos, and Arron, Dustin and Hailey Hanna, great grandson Bryson Wagner, and many nieces, nephews and dear friends.

She is also survived by her brother John Mead and wife Wendy, sister Merileen Haney and her husband Ron, and her sister-in-laws Kathleen LaPonte and Athena Sutton.

Lorene was proceeded in death by her husband Ernest J. Crusos, her father Freddie Mead, mother Dorothy and stepfather Louis McCarthy, and son Richard Crusos. Also proceeding her in death were her sister-in-laws Sophia Stanley, Katherine Bittner, Regina McHan and brother-in-law Nick Crusos.

The family would like to thank wonderful staff at ViennaNursing home and Adventist Hospice for their wonderful careduring Lorene’s illness and final days.

Lodi Funeral Home is in charge of her arrangements. The Trisagion service will be held On Tuesday May 7 th at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Lodi Funeral Home. Graveside services will take place at Cherokee Memorial Cemetery on Wednesday May 8 th at 12:30 p.m. with Fr. Panagiotis Sotiras of St. Basil’s Orthodox Church presiding over both.

The family kindly askes that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Lorene’s memory to the Crazy Horse Memorial foundation to further the progress of the mountain. www.crazyhorsememorial.org